Wing cracks, other flaws delay China jet manufacture

When China set a goal to leap from being a tiny aerospace-industry player to a direct threat to Airbus and Boeing, few scoffed at the idea, given Beijing’s track record of using deep government pockets to push state-owned firms up the ladder.

But as leaders of the global aerospace industry gather in Beijing for an International Air Transport Association meeting that kicks off on Sunday, a closer examination by Reuters shows that the potential challenge from China might be greatly overblown, and that its aircraft sector is unlikely to pose any credible competition for at least a decade.

To start with, a host of design flaws have delayed approval by the Civil Aviation Administration of China for the country’s first homegrown passenger jet — a 90-seat ARJ21 “regional” plane.